It's late August. Most apple trees
ripen in October, but my little tree

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is an early-fruiting
variety called Discovery.

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You can tell if
an apple's ready or not because

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when you tip them up...

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if they come off, they're ripe,

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and if they don't, they need
to stay on just that bit longer.

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And it has the most beautiful
child's-drawing red apples.

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But unfortunately,
it's not a storer.

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You almost have to eat them
straight off the tree.

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They're very sweet. They're just
amazing, incredibly crisp.

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I've got too many to eat in one go,
but one clever way to preserve

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their deliciously sweet flavour is
to turn them into dried apple rings.

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Now, it's really simple.

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You just...

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..take out the middle.

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And then they need to be about
a quarter of an inch thick.

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And then immediately
into slightly salty water,

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because this keeps their colour.

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And discard any bruised bits or...

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..insect-damaged bits,

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because they immediately
seem to start rotting on the cane.

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Do you like the apple?

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You're a funny dog!

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Do you want more?

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And the only other trick I've found
is if you rub a little bit
of sunflower or olive oil

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on the cane first, then it stops
them from sticking onto the cane.

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You can make apple rings
with any eating-apple variety.

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Just hang them
in a warm place to dry

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and after two to three days
they'll be ready.

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They should store for months
in an airtight container.

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Mm, they're delicious.

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The other great thing
about fruit gluts

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is they make perfect
give-away gifts.

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For me, the long-standing
tradition of crop swapping

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is due for a comeback.

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So when my friend Emily's mum
announced a damson glut, it was

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time to pay a visit with a carton
of Alice B and Gertrude's eggs.

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-Here are some eggs in return for
damsons.

-Thank you very much indeed.

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-Come on in.

-Cheers.

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-Hello!

-Hi!

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Cor, they all are up here,
aren't they?

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Damsons are a delicious, tangy plum,

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great for all types of preserving
and not often found in supermarkets,

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so if you don't have a neighbour
with a tree or a farmer

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who'll bring them to market,
try using plums as an alternative.

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My God, you've got tons!

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The rich, fruity flavour of damsons

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is really good infused with vodka
to make a delicious sweet liqueur.

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So back at home, my friends and I
set about making damson vodka.

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It's quite satisfying.

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It's a nice job. I like it.

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You start by pricking the skins

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to allow the flavour of the flesh
to infuse with the vodka.

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The rich colour that
follows comes from the skins.

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We're putting the sugar in here,
and then we're going to put
them in the pots?

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And then we'll just wash it out with
vodka. It'll be fine in the end.

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For every pound of fruit add a pound
of sugar to a litre bottle of vodka.

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Measurement, measurement!

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As you can see, it doesn't have
to be an exact science.

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Smells lovely.

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Leave it to steep in an airtight jar

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and within three months
it will be ripe to drink.

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I'm using the rest of the damsons
to make a damson cheese.

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It's not really a cheese,
it's more like a jam.

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My mum makes it every year,
and I'm recreating her recipe.

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Put six pounds of damsons
into a large saucepan
with half a pint of water.

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Bring to the boil and then leave
to simmer for about half an hour

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on a low heat
until the damsons are soft.

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Pour through a sieve to puree
the fruit and remove the stones.

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You'll need to add a pound
of sugar to a pound of puree

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and let it dissolve.

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I think jam's
much like preserving anything,

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because it's this idea
that you have a cupboard full of...

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a season...

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..and that somehow makes you feel

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really safe.

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And that it's brightly
coloured's quite good, as well.

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Keep stirring until
the mixture becomes very thick,

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almost like a treacle
so it comes away from the side

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and then pour it
into sterilised jars or moulds.

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Mm!

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Because damsons are
kind of naturally quite tart...

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it's not as sweet
as you think it's going to be.

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It's perfect, actually.

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Damson cheese makes
a delicious accompaniment

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to yoghurt or strong cheeses,

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so I'm giving away my spare pots
as Christmas presents.

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Consider them bottled love.

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And to make my gifts pretty,
I want to customise them.

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I've heard about a Japanese leaf
printing technique called hapazome.

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Late September arrives, and with it,
leaves of a scarlet hue.

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Come on, Iz!

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I have a plan to print jam-pot
covers using nature's bounty.

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My friend Grace
is a hapazome expert,

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so she's joined me at my local park
to gather our raw materials.

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So, what are the best leaves
to look for?

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Well, you can have a go with
any leaves, but the best leaves are

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ones with interesting shapes
and, obviously, interesting colour
variation at this time of year.

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So you don't want to get leaves
that have dried out, basically.

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If it crinkles and breaks up,
that's not good.

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There's going to be no moisture
in there, and it's not going
to come out on the fabric.

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The lovely thing about this is
the zigzag on the edge of the leaf.

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Hopefully, you'll be able to get...

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..to get all that definition.

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You could easily get quite
a leaf fetish, couldn't you?

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Come on, Iz! Come on!

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For our leaf prints,
we've chosen fleshy leaves

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with vibrant colours
and strong shapes,

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like ferns and pine needles.

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And I've also picked some
marigolds and violas from my garden.

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-Do you think I'll get it on the same
stalk here or not?

-Give it a go.

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I mean, give it a whack and just...

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The technique
is straightforward enough,

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but the choice of fabric
does matter.

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Natural fibres work best,
because they easily absorb the
colour that seeps from the leaves.

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OK. Are you ready?

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Right, yes, I'm ready. Oh, wow.

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See? You can get good effects.

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God, that's beautiful.
All the veins in it!

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It's amazing, the detail, isn't it?

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It's just gorgeous the way
it's such a different relief,

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the way the stem creates
the different thing on each side.

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When totally dry, iron the material
to fix the plant dye.

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That is really beautiful.

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Oh, wow. See?

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Lovely.

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My early-fruiting
apple tree is over.

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However,
there are neglected apple trees

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across the country, in woodlands,
parks and country lanes,

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all offering
their own windfall gifts.

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Thankfully, most apple varieties
ripen in October

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and that's when
you're likely to get gluts.

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-Isabel!

-SHE WHISTLES

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Izzy! Thank you.

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So, this orchard is on a bit of land
which is connected to my local park,

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and I always think it's such a shame

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to think of all this fruit just
rotting because nobody can be
bothered to go and pick it.

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And I've been allowed
to pick up all the windfalls.

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And the great thing
about windfalls is

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you wouldn't exactly
want to eat this,

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but it's perfectly good
for juicing.

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So you can use all sorts of

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less-than-perfect apples.

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There are so many apples here!

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It's great!

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So my plan is to offer
a free apple-pressing service

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to all those who have more apples
than they can shake a stick at.

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And I'm doing it
at my local farmers' market.

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I'm joined by my friend Syd
and his home-made apple press.

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There's a bit wedged
in one corner, actually.

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The apple crusher
is powered by an electric drill

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and the apple press,
by two car jacks.

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The aim is to slowly squeeze
the pulp between our wooden boards

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and then reap the liquid rewards.

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But it seems everyone's
got a crush on our crusher.

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Faced with its new-found fame,
it's gone into meltdown.

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Yeah, it's still running.

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We're slightly oversubscribed,

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and it's meant
that we've broken the machine!

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So this bit is going
to have to be done by hand.

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-Oh, it's good.

-Yeah?

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I've been effortlessly gathering
fruits from my garden since June.

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Yet, five months on, and I
still have one lingering treat.

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It's November,
and I'm still picking raspberries.

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Now, really, autumn-fruiting
raspberries probably only produce

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into October, it's just that
it's been so unbelievably mild.

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Traditionally,
you used to wire your raspberries
in so they stood upright like this.

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But I actually don't think
there's any point

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unless space is a real issue,
because if you let them hang over,

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the leaves naturally
act as a foil and the birds

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never find the berries,
whereas if you hold them up,

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it's quite clear
where all the berries are.

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Isabel!

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Hello! Come on! Nicely...

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Nicely. Ooh!

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OK, one more for Gertrude.

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Stop being a pig, Alice. No, it's
for Gertrude. It's for Gertrude!

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Oi!

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Nicely! That's my finger.

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Some people would say
that you're slightly pampered

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as far as chickens go.

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Next time,
in my quest for a garden that

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tastes as good as it looks, I'll
turn my attention to floral foods...

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fragrant lavender biscuits...

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There's nothing more summery than
the smell of lavender biscuits.

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..potent home-made floral fizz...

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and fresh from my garden,
an edible bouquet,

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a housewarming
gift of home-grown herbs.

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Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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Alys Fowler attempts to avoid shop-bought fruit and vegetables and live off her own, home-grown produce, all from her tiny terraced back garden. It's no easy task because Alys doesn't want to turn her garden into an allotment, so she's growing her fruit and vegetables among her flowers.

Alys will focus on different foods and show how anyone can grow, cook and eat from their own garden - even if they live in a city.

Fruit, particularly fruit like raspberries and blueberries, can be a costly luxury bought from the shops, yet nothing could be simpler to grow. You plant them and then just sit back and wait. With most of her garden devoted to growing vegetables, Alys still manages to squeeze in some juicy fruits alongside her mature apple tree. As well as enjoying them for breakfast, Alys preserves their flavour by making jams, tangy fruit leathers and sweet dried apple rings.